Terrible twos.... err... one and a halfs...

My precious, patient, always laughing, always smiling baby has grown into a whining, crying, stubborn toddler. It comes from the fact that he wants to do everything himself. He wants to feed himself, brush his own teeth, put on his own shoes, chose his own clothes, choose his own meal.... Well, you get the idea. Now, don't get me wrong, it isn't constant. He is still full of laughter and smiles and intense concentration. It's just that the whining has grown more common and his frustrations have multiplied.

I know all of this is because he is starting to become more independent. He wants to be able to do everything on his own and learn as much as quickly as possible. He wants to be in control of something. He has to use the spoon or the fork himself and he knows what he wants to eat. The problem right now is primarily communication. He knows maybe ten words, but he doesn't use them very often and mostly only uses them after DH and I do.

Time-out is a beautiful thing.

Add to the frustrations that he's been getting up earlier in the morning. Grumpy, sleepy child. And then he's been waking up crying after we put him to bed. Grumpy, sleepy parents.